Massive protests are already being organized for 08' DNC convention.

[Cascadian]

At next year's DNC convention in Denver, there is already plans being drawn out for thousands of protesters to converge on the Mile High City for 4 days of demonstrations and a Festival of Democracy that is planned to be held at Denver's Civic Center.

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20070328114413545


http://www.recreate68.org/

And for the sake of fairness, there are also plans for a large demonstration and gather for the GOP'sconvention in Minneapolis as well.


http://www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org/



It will be an interesting Summer next year.


John

[mike_c]

1. That sounds worth attending....

eom

[pnwmom]

12. The 1968 Chicago Democratic convention protests put Nixon into office.

Why would we want to do that again? Unless we don't care if the country stays in Republican hands for another four years.

He who doesn't know history is condemned to repeat it. Or so the saying goes.

[AshevilleGuy]

41. It did indeed. Don't people ever think about things like this?

Or do they just want to do what THEY want, regardless of the consequences?

[CBHagman]

51. I know. It's like Nader.

Just show up and scream -- no strategy, no way of influencing public opinion, except to make yourself look like a spoiler and/or anarchist. Not much help, folks.

[Hippo_Tron]

46. If you were going to be drafted how was Nixon worse than Humphrey?

Sure Humphrey was better on all other issues but the war, but if you were going to get drafted and killed in Vietnam does any of that really matter?

[AshevilleGuy]

47. There was some hope that Humphrey would end the war more quickly.

I was for Eugene McCarthy myself, but when HHH got the nomination he was all we had. Being only 18 in 1968 I couldn't vote - you had to be 21 back then. Talk about frustrating! I had to register for the draft, but was not old enough to fucking vote!

[CK_John]

2. I worry about Denver, non union hotels, lack of rooms and poor

public transportation.

[tridim]

7. Denver has great public transportation.

Lack of rooms might be a problem, but I'm sure Dean is getting it solved.

[originalpckelly]

8. We have one of the best transport systems in America...

our bus system was rated #1 in 2003.

[babylonsister]

3. There's over a year to go; could their 1000's turn into double digits? nt

[pnwmom]

22. Look at the "recreate 68" website -- they're aiming for a violent protest.

I don't think that will help Obama or any other Democrat get elected.

Some people here seem to be unaware that the 1968 protests helped put Nixon into office; others apparently don't care.

[gardenista]

43. And yet others relish the thought that the result will be just that.

Not looking forward to the flame wars on this subject.

You can be sure that some of the supporters of Recreate 68 are on the payroll.

[silverweb]

4. Summer?

This entire election cycle, from now right down to Inauguration Day '09, is going to be very interesting, with never a dull moment.

Obama's my favorite, but I'll happily support whichever candidate gets the Dem nomination. We've got a superlative group of people to choose from.

And the reTHUGs have... _*snicker* ... crap.

We have about a year and a half of high-quality, high-stakes politicking before us. At the very least, it's going to be stimulating entertainment.

[Gman]

5. We hardly noticed any protestors in Boston in '04

The largest protests were kept away from the convention. Protestors I saw in Boston Commons and a couple of other places were small but loud groups.

I wouldn't expect more for Denver.

[tridim]

6. No way to predict how this will go, but I hope that it remains peaceful

If the polls are showing a landslide win and we're actively leaving Iraq at the time, spirits could be very high. I can see it turning into a big party celebrating the end of Bush and the return of hope. I'm about 5 miles from the convention center and can't wait. :)

[pnwmom]

18. I doubt that a group called "recreate 68" is aiming for something peaceful.

Peaceful isn't a word I'd use to describe that Democratic convention. And it shot our chances at the Presidency.

And the "recreate 68" website shows a picture of a raised, closed fist -- doesn't that tell you something?

[Tellurian]

40. Take a look at this one..

From the OP's link:

http://www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org/

Doesn't sound to peaceful to me.

[Lint Head]

9. That's great but...

..if people are not careful we'll have another 8 years of wacko right wing nuts. I say protest the hell out of the Re-Pubic-Rats convention against the criminals that have taken over our country. Protest at the Democratic convention to keep them in line and not cave in to the corporate thugs that are using this war for profit and controlling everything we consume. :dem:

[jwirr]

10. Yes, I was just remembering the 1968 convention. It scared the

hell out of America.

[pnwmom]

13. This smells very GREEN to me.

Why protest at both conventions unless you're saying there's no difference between the parties?

It sure won't help elect a Democrat.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

14. Voting for Hillary won'r elect a Democrat either

rightwingers It looks like we have choice between Benito Giuilani or Mitt
or
the rigfhtwing Goldwater girl, president of the college repubs and pro-globalization/pro-war/pro-bankrputcy 'reform' wal-mart board member

there won'e be a Dem. in the race if Hillary buys the nomination

[pnwmom]

15. I don't think she'll win, and she's not my choice BUT

her voting record has consistently ranked her among the 10 most progressive in the Senate. No one looking at her actual record can rationally say there's no difference between her record and those of the Republicans.

[Cascadian]

17. Let'e emphasize the word "buy" when it comes to Hillary.

If Hillary gets the nomination, she will have bought it.



John

[Cascadian]

19. The majority of these people who plan to protest do think that.

Some of the Democrats are in the same bed as the Republicans. Why do you think the multinationals were able to get those free trade agreements rammed into legislation courtesy of Bill Clinton? This is one of the reasons people think there is no difference. If the Democratic Party is to survive then it must sever it's ties from the corporatists. Get rid of their filty money!


John

[pnwmom]

20. The "recreate 68" site is inciting violence, with its image of a closed fist,

and it's call for the "destruction" of the two party system, and to make the violent convention of 1968 seem like a "small get together."

A protest like that won't accomplish anything, except to associate the Democratic party with violent protesters and to help the "law and order" types -- i.e. the Republicans -- stay in office.

It certainly won't get swing voters to suddenly decide to join with the Greens.

[Cascadian]

21. If Hillary gets the nomination, the Greens will get more support.

I know some Democrats would not want that right?



John

[pnwmom]

24. The Greens won't get more support if there are violent protests at

the convention. There will be a huge backlash against anyone but the "law and order" types. We've been down that road before.

And this site you've posted isn't even pretending to be a peaceful gathering -- not with its symbol of a raised, closed fist.

[Cascadian]

27. The raised fist has been a symbol of rebellion for years.

And it does not necessarily mean for violence.


John

[pnwmom]

30. Yes, it stands for rebellion. Violent rebellion. And it has for years.

Funny that some groups are promoting this just as we have a real hope for change. Maybe some of these people are really trying to help the Republicans stay in office -- and are using naive idealists to further their Rovian ends.

[Cascadian]

36. You have to realize a lot of people feel let down at the moment.

They have seen only a snail's pace of activity from the Democrats to stop the Neocon Bush agenda. This is one of the reasons you have people who think that there is no difference between the two parties. Some people can only see the black and white of an issue and not the gray areas. They all cannot be poli sci majors or political anaylists. The Democrats should stop acting like Republican Lite for once. Start being the party of FDR, Truman, and RFK again.


John

[pnwmom]

38. A snail's pace? The Democrats have passed through the Senate or the House

sixteen bills that Bush has already vowed to veto. They're up to their eyeballs in investigations. And the Dems have only been in office for 3 months.

You think Waxman or Schumer aren't doing enough, fast enough? Then tell me how you'd do it better.

[ConsAreLiars]

44. Your ignorance, or misrepresentation of the "violent protests" is very telliing.

The "Walker Report" characterized those events as a "police riot." You may prefer a police state to one in which free speech is permitted; if that is your perspective that is your right. But you don't have the right to deceive others about those events.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention :

Despite the poor behavior of some protestors, there was widespread criticism that the Chicago police and National Guard used excessive force: a 1968 Time article declared that "With billy clubs, tear gas and Mace, the blue-shirted, blue-helmeted cops violated the civil rights of countless innocent citizens and contravened every accepted code of professional police discipline ... No one could accuse the Chicago cops of discrimination. They savagely attacked hippies, yippies, New Leftists, revolutionaries, dissident Democrats, newsmen, photographers, passers-by, clergymen and at least one cripple. Winston Churchill's journalist grandson got roughed up. Playboy's Hugh Hefner took a whack on the backside. The police even victimized a member of the British Parliament, Mrs. Anne Kerr, a vacationing Laborite who was Maced outside the Conrad Hilton and hustled off to the lockup."<3> In 1968, Jo Freeman wrote, "Over three dozen newsmen were injured in their attempts to cover the action."<4>

In trying to explain his decision to quell the protests, Daley uttered one of the most famous quotes of the era: "The policeman isn't there to create disorder, the policeman is there to preserve disorder."<5>

This hard line was also seen on the convention floor itself. In 1968, Terry Southern described the convention hall as "exactly like approaching a military installation; barbed-wire, checkpoints, the whole bit".<6> Inside the convention, journalists such as Mike Wallace and Dan Rather were roughed up by security; both these events were broadcast live on television. When Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D-Conn) delivered a speech nominating George McGovern for President, he infuriated Daley by saying, "with George McGovern as President of the United States, we wouldn't have Gestapo tactics in the streets of Chicago."<7> Daley responded by shaking his fist at Ribicoff, and shouting a phrase that was inaudible, and which has generated much speculation. An uncredited author for CNN wrote, "Most reports of the event also say Daley yelled an off-color epithet beginning with an "F," but according to CNN executive producer Jack Smith, others close to Daley insist he shouted 'Faker,' meaning Ribicoff was not a man of his word, the lowest name one can be called in Chicago's Irish politics."<8>

Subsequently, the Walker Report to the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence assigned blame for the mayhem in the streets to the police force, calling the violence a "police riot".

[pnwmom]

48. Yes, the police used excessive force. They behaved inexcusably.

But the fact remains that the backlash was entirely on the shoulders of the protestors. The "law and order" types won the round.

[Cascadian]

26. I hope it does not get violent.

Either way, you will have protesters there in Denver. They have a right to be there to address the grievences they may have. Some Democrats better wake up and find out who they are really suppose to serve.

The violence that will take place will probably be caused from a few black masked Anarchists but I would expect they will be mostly peaceful.


John

[pnwmom]

28. If it's supposed to be peaceful, then why the image of the raised fist?

Why not a dove or a peace sign?

You know why.

[Cascadian]

31. You had people raising fists at WTO in '99...

but it did not mean they all were trashing a Starbuck's. Who is to say how the protests in Denver will turn out? Let me ask you this question. Would you rather they just shut up and not protest the Democrats? Is that what you want?


John

[pnwmom]

34. If I knew they would be peaceful, I wouldn't worry. But that website

tells me they won't be.

And I resent that you're using a pro-Democratic website in order to attack the Democratic party. If nothing else, the last 6 years should have taught us that there are some profound differences between the two parties. If Al Gore had been elected, we wouldn't be in Iraq today. And we wouldn't be pretending that global warming was a fiction.

[Cascadian]

35. I am not attacking the Democratic Party.

If you have ever seen all of my posts, you would know that. I only back Democrats who deserve my backing and that is those who do not cater to the corporate/military/fascist agenda. Those Democrats who make a stand without fail and know what is right and wrong get my vote. Those who do not wimper out and fight back get my vote! So far, I have been disappointed with only a few exceptions. I want the Democratic Party to succeed but not under some DLC agenda.


I reserve the right to criticize anything I may not agree with in the party! I am sorry if you have trouble with coming to terms with that. You'll just have to.


John

[pnwmom]

37. I don't have a problem with you criticizing the party or its candidates.

But I do have a problem with people who use this site to advocate for third parties against Democrats. Why would you support massive protests against the convention when we have no idea who the Democratic candidate will be?

I really don't think it will be Hillary. I think it will be Obama or Edwards, and either would be a breath of fresh air after the stink of the last 6 years.

[Cascadian]

42. For the record. I do not advocate violence. The thing I want is this.

I just want the party to do the right thing. It would make for a better country if it did. It saddens me whenever I see these guys cave in and back things like the IWR or allow Bushco to have their judges in the Supreme Court. You have to admit there are a lot of people like myself who are feeling a bit disenchanted at the moment but I would never advocate violence in the streets. The Democrats have pushed a lot of people away from them over the years. I want to support the Democrats through and through but it has been very hard for me to do so.


John

[pnwmom]

49. You're not advocating violence, I believe you. But you might be aligning

yourself with people who do.

And I don't accept what you said about allowing Bush to appoint his judges to the Supreme Court. We never had the votes to overcome those appointments. Any stand we would have taken would have come to nothing.

And if we had voted against the IWR in October 2002, what would we have accomplished? In January, when the Republicans rolled in with their new majorities, they would have given Bush a blank check with his preferred version of a war resolution -- minus the compromise language that the Democrats had insisted on putting in the October IWR. The Bush version would have allowed us to attack not only Iraq but anywhere in the Middle East -- Hagel said we could have attacked anywhere, even Greece. Instead, thanks to the compromise language, Reid, Pelosi, Clinton, and others have all reminded Bush that the IWR does NOT give him authority to go into Iran. If instead we had had Bush's version of the IWR in January 03, we'd no doubt already be in Iran.

[JAbuchan08]

53. The reason the pubs are so far right is because of activism

in their base. If Democrats aren't responsible enough to have activism within their own party they WILL end up with two parties that are fundamentally alike. If their are differences in the parties know t is because of pressure at the base over the last 12 or so years. BTW I vote Democratic party line, although I vote for liberals in primaries.

[pnwmom]

11. Great. So we can have a rerun of the Chicago convention during Vietnam,

which helped put Nixon into office.

Brilliant idea.

:sarcasm:

[Cascadian]

23. 1968 was a tragic time.

I think had RFK not been killed, he would have gotten the nomination and the Chicago convention would have not been as violent as it was.



John

[pnwmom]

25. Do you remember the SDS, and similar groups?

All they accomplished was bringing a backlash against the Democrats.

[Cascadian]

29. Do you know about COINTELPRO?

A lot of these people were plants from the Federal government to incite violence and make the progressive cause look bad.

John

[pnwmom]

32. And how do you know these "recreate 68" people aren't Rovian plants?

Hoping to bring out the "law and order" voters?

[Cascadian]

33. That could be a possibility.

Then again nothing surprises me anymore.



John

[AshevilleGuy]

39. I met some. They were anarchists.

You could not reason with them, they would just get insulting. They said that without a government here the 'people' would simply take what they NEED. I asked what would keep them from taking all they WANT, and was assailed as a reactionary.

I wonder if they are retired millionaire stock brokers now???

[Tellurian]

45. Exactly...

after reading the OP's links that is precisely what they are..

http://www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org/

Just what the Dems need, anarchists with an RNC Welcome logo.

[seriousstan]

16. Any word where the "freedom of speech" pens will be?

[rinsd]

50. Wow they have a website and everything, must be serious

:eyes:

Its a local peace group. BFD.

[ChiciB1]

52. I Think The Repukes Are Getting Overly Ambitious About Protests

these days. Just went to the March On The Pentagon and they were really a NASTY bunch!! I don't think it would be useful to try something "Peaceful" with these IDIOTS!! Not unless there is a gib change from what is going on now!

And from my perspective, THEY got more protection from the "riot gear" men than did those of us who attended the March. While I'm glad I went, this was the LARGEST offense I've seen at a March I've attended. But maybe there were more at other marches around the country, I'm just stating what I saw.

I think they have begun to realize that WE are making some impact, and THEY want to disrupt anything PEACEFUL to make US look bad!

While I would LOVE to see Colorado, I don't think I want to be part of something like what happened in '68!